Majority of engineering professionals feel stressed about finding a new role in the current climate

A new study from UK’s independent job board, CV-Library, shows that a staggering 66.1% of engineering professionals feel stressed about trying to find a new role in the current climate, with one in four (28.3%) admitting that they’ve put their job search on hold due to COVID-19. 

The study surveyed 1,100 professionals and found that 89.8% of people working in the engineering sector were hoping to find a new job in 2020. 

Among professionals who have put a pause on their job search, 73.3% said they won’t start looking again until lockdown is completely lifted and 26.7% said they’ll start searching again later in the year. 

The findings show that people who aren’t currently working are naturally the most stressed about finding a new role; with 72.7% of people who are unemployed and 81.8% of engineering professionals on furlough admitting that they feel this way. 

The figure dropped to 50% amongst people working part-time and 56.5% amongst people working full time. 

Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments: “With a new decade comes a desire for change and a lot of people had big intentions for 2020. Whether that was to find a new job, set-up a new business or embark on an exciting new career path. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has flipped the world on its head and forced people to abandon these plans, which is resulting in a lot of angst and uncertainty. 

“For employers and recruiters, the fact that more people are wanting to change jobs is a massive positive, but we know that organisations are already making difficult decisions around their existing workforce. While job vacancies are starting to pick back up, opportunities have been limited over the past few months and this is naturally making job seekers feel nervous.” 

Amongst the 71.7% of respondents in the engineering industry who said they hadn’t paused their job search during the pandemic, only 15.8% said they’ve been able to find a new role during this time. 

However, this figure rose to 53.3% amongst candidates in the public sector, 42.9% in property, 37.5% in recruitment, 32% in manufacturing and 24% in social care. 

Biggins continues: “Certain industries are undoubtedly going to be more affected than others throughout the pandemic and we’ve certainly seen more jobs being advertised within the public sector and social care. It’s a stressful time for hiring professionals and job seekers, so try to be as sensitive as you can when handling applications. Communication is going to be key in this critical stage.”